Uncrossing the Rubicon/Nobody Said it Was EZ...
Previous chapter: 2. Raptor Revival Three steps out of the Cleaning Room, we got flagged down by another staff member. This one introduced himself as "Devon Straight", causing me to snicker. Celestial elbowed me for that. "No, thank you," I said, "I've done quite a bit of online research. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing." Celestial was more receptive to the help. "Yes, a crash course would be groovy." I sighed. I suppose watching a battle session won't be too bad... Of course by this time Celestial and Devon were walking through the infamous "door-on-the-left". I rushed in after them. Celestial waved when she saw me. Devon cleared his throat (he had a slight cold). “There are two formations you can use in battles.” he began. “The Cambrian formation has room for one Vivosaur in the front zone, or AZ, and two in the Support Zone, or SZ.” Classic set-up. With two supporters in the SZ, one can take full advantage of Support Effects. “The second formation is called Jurassic. It’s the reverse of Cambrian, because it keeps two up front, and one in the back.” Celestial nodded. I raised my hand. “Why would I want to use Jurassic? With only one supporter, how can I keep any sort of offensive momentum?” Devon thought for a moment. “It has to do with ranges. Long-Range Vivosaurs have the best offensive power from the rear SZ. This zone is only reachable in Jurassic; if you tried it while keeping the set-up Cambrian, the Vivosaur in the back wouldn't be able to attack or use support effects, period. And if you have two Mid-Ranges…” “Mid-Ranges?!?” I thought I had studied! What the heck is a mid-range!?! Devon sighed. “Mid-Ranges are Vivosaurs with the best offensive targeting system. From the SZ, they can deal heavy damage to the foe’s AZ. From the AZ, they can dish it out to the enemy’s SZ. Long-Ranges and Close-Ranges work best in SZ – SZ and AZ – AZ situations respectively, with a significant power drop if used outside those parameters.” I nodded slowly. “These are considerably different from Vivosaur Island rules.” “There was a problem with V.I. rules: Compso. The whole sport became dependent on the luck of Swap skills to get that little pest out of the SZ. It ceased to be a challenge. So, an organization in Japan called R.E.D. gave it an overhaul. They came up with the idea for the two formations, messed with a few Vivosaur techniques, increased the Fossil Power storage capacity, and Bob’s your uncle. New battle system.” I was still skeptical. “If this really took place, then why haven’t I heard about it?” “It happened last week. R.E.D. isn't all that great with press releases. Joe Wildwest was one of the first to know.” “Joe Wildwest!? The Vivosaur Wrangler?” Celestial gave me a "can-we-do-this-later" look. I conceded. “Sorry. I’ll let you two finish up.” The battle demonstration went smoothly from there on. Celestial rotated a loaned-out Tricera to the AZ and knocked out Devon's Proto in one hit. Devon smiled, and escorted us out of the stadium to the receptionist. "I showed these two the basics. I approve them for their Fighters' Licenses." "Alrighty." she said, as she brought out the appropriate paperwork. "Sign here." Clutching the pen tightly in my right hand, I scratched out my name. Celestial did the same, but with her left hand. "Now for your photo..." she raised a camera. "Uh, can I not?" I said, kind of nervously. She bit her lip. "It's against protocol... any special reason?" "Well, I sort of have this intense psychological disorder. I've been struggling with fitful displays of egotistical histrionics from an early age. My therapist recently discovered that if I carry around any pictures of myself, it only aggravates the condition. It really is a terrible sight when I get going. I start foaming at the mouth, and I start spouting all these first person pronouns, and I..." I touched my lips. "Oh no! It's starting! I-ME-MY-MYSELF!!! DAAAAAAAH!" At this display, the receptionist grew wide-eyed. "Uh- of course. You may skip the photograph." She hastily punched a few keys, and printed out my picture-less license. And with that, I was a Fossil Fighter. The adventure continues in Chapter 4: Power Pack. Category:Uncrossing the Rubicon (Chapters)